Unpretty
by The Darklight Angel
Summary: Rachel Berry wanted so much more than life in sleepy little Lima. Little did she know that the life of excitement she always dreamed of would be heading her way in a most unexpected form, thrusting her into a tale as old as time. BatB!Faberry.
1. Prologue

**It's been a long time since I've come out with something new, and an even longer time since my last new story. I promised someone last year I'd write a story for them- and here it is. This story is inspired by the beautiful works of** ~Zell-K **on deviantart. Go check her out, I think you'll see the works I'm talking about. And now, may I present to you my fellow faberry lovers...**

****Unpretty: a Faberry Beauty and the Beast AU**  
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><p>Disclaimer - I do not own Glee, nor do I own the characters or concept. I own my words though, and that's enough for me.<p>

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><p>"No, no, p-p-please! I'm sorry!"<p>

The young girl threw herself at the feet of the woman in front of her. The woman said nothing, her eyes closed, her face a picture of impassiveness.

"Please, you can't!" The girl whimpered.

"I, I-" She swallowed harshly, her pride a lump in her throat. "I beg you, have mercy."

Suddenly, the woman's eyes snapped open. "You beg of me?" She whispered, her voice an ethereal whisper that sent chills racing up the girl's spine. "You beg of me, after you so denied my plea?"

"Well, that was different!" The girl protested, her voice weak. "Had you shown me… had I known, I wouldn't have-"

"Should my appearance make a difference to you?" The woman whispered again, her whisper more effective than the world's loudest shout. "Kindness and love make no demands. There is no limit to what the human heart may give."

Slowly, the woman's gaze met that of the young girl, trembling and prostrated before her. Whereas her facial expression remained neutral, her eyes showed what her face did not- pure disgust.

"And it is clear to me that there is no love in your heart."

"Please, please, spare me!" The girl pleaded. "I'm sorry!"

The woman only shook her head, her gaze never losing it's colour of disgust. As the woman rose a hand, the girl gasped; tendrils of soft white light snaked their way out from the woman's fingertips, quickly spreading throughout the room. Before the girl knew it, the white light had encompassed the whole room- and judging from the rate it was spreading, soon the whole building would be engulfed in the white glow.

And the woman, the only point in the room that was not radiating with the white light, began to speak. All the girl could do was listen, paralyzed with fear and wonder, as the tendrils of light pouring from the woman's fingertips suddenly _wrapped themselves around the girls arms_, thick as cable and strong as steel.

As the white light grew blindingly bright, the girl closed her eyes. Overwhelmed by the words, the _implications_, and the cables suddenly expanding and enfolding her whole body, she blacked out- her world of dazzling white fading into complete and utter darkness.

When the girl next awoke, she was on the floor, and everything was dark. Slowly shrugging off the seductive caress of sleep, the girl sat up slowly. Blinking away the sleep in her vision, she froze, as everything rushed back to her- the events of the evening, her mixed emotions, but most of all, the woman's words.

Within a moment, the girl was on her feet. Stumbling blindly through the darkness of the room, she felt her way to the door. Nearly tearing the door off its hinges in her haste, she ran through, loping down the hallway until she reached the door to the washroom.

Bursting through, the girl stopped, frozen in her tracks as she came face to face with two items that made her blood turn to ice in her veins.

A mirror, and a single, glowing rose.

The piercing howl heard that night was unlike anything ever heard in the castle before, echoing and lingering even when the sound of her shrieks faded. There was no better music that suited the castle than the inhuman, tortured wails of the young mistress; no better sound that suited her dark abode than her hopeless cries.

And indeed, the girl knew that her situation, her _life_, was lost. Despite the woman's words, despite the woman's offer of 'redemption', the girl knew that there was no hope left for her.

For who could ever learn to love... a beast? 


	2. Ten Years Later

**Ten years later...**

**Disclaimer - I don't own Glee, or Beauty and the Beast. I simply drew inspiration from it :)**

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><p>"Where is she?" A voice, deep and male, murmured softly.<p>

Dark eyes surveyed the noontime crowd. When the owner of the voice did not spot what he was looking for, he swore softly under his breath, his eyes darkening further with annoyance.

The man surveying the crowd sighed, pushing a hand into his pocket as his mouth twisted into a line of displeasure. The other hand he rose, running it through his ruffled brown hair.

The boy was barely a man, but he stood tall, looming head and shoulders above everyone else. Lightly muscled, the young man was a handsome specimen- and the hunting gun slung over his shoulder spoke volumes about his ability to provide.

Beside him stood another man. Shorter than the first, he was stockier and more powerfully built than his companion. His hair was cut shorter, cropped closer to his head than the other man's, save for the odd long strip that grew down the middle of his skull. His eyes were darker than that of the first boy's. Like his friend, a musket was strapped across his back. However, unlike his companion, a small smirk was gracing his lips instead of a scowl.

"Looks like whoever it is ain't here, Finn." He laughed, nudging the taller man in the ribs.

"Shut it, Puck." Finn grunted, shooting a glare at the shorter male before turning his eyes back to the crowd. Staring at the crowd around the town square, a wide, dopey grin suddenly spread across Finn's face. Slapping Puck across the back, Finn outstretched a finger.

"There!" He beamed, pointing into the crowd. "That's her!"

"Where?" Noah 'Puck' Puckerman squinted into the throng of people. Finally catching sight of who his friend was pointing at, he reeled back, surprise etched into his every feature.

"_Her?"_

"She's the one!" Finn nodded happily. "The lucky girl I'm going to marry."

"B-b-but-" Puck gaped, "That's _Rachel Berry. _And she's-_"_

"The most beautiful girl in town." Finn finished, turning his eyes upon his supposed bride-to-be.

Sitting by the fountain, nose buried inside a book, sat Rachel Berry. She was a small girl, barely a woman, just past the cusp of adolescence. She seemed to smile as the sun embraced her, striking highlights into her rich, dark hair. Finn knew that if she just looked up, looking straight at him, he would see the dark hues of her eyes light up as well; perhaps due not just to the sunlight.

"-I was going to say, the _inventor's_ daughter." Puck hissed. "The town loon?"

"So?" Finn chuckled. "Once we get married, we won't ever have to see him again."

"That's only if she says yes, you know." Puck pointed out, cocking an eyebrow and crossing heavily muscled arms across his chest.

"And what are the chances of her saying no?" Finn chuckled again. Straightening his back, Finn took a deep breath and exhaled. Rising to his full height, he threw a cocky grin at Puck, before strutting to the woman of his affections.

Coming to a rest before Rachel, the young man exhaled deeply. Quickly thinking up of something witty to say, Finn felt his confidence boost even further. Smoothing a hand through his hair and placing a charming smile on his face, he opened his mouth to speak…

Only to be interrupted as Rachel looked up and began to speak.

"Hello, Finn!" She chirped, eyes bright and a wide smile on her face.

Finn deflated.

"Hello, Rachel." He mumbled.

"How can I help you today?" She asked, eyes locked onto the giant looming before her.

'_Think of something, Hudson!'_ A voice hissed in his head. Unfortunately, all of his previous ideas of charm and wit left him at that moment. Quickly, his eyes flicked down to the woman's lap, where she held a sheaf of papers. Snatching them out of her lap, Finn brought the papers to eyes level.

Scrawled across the papers were lines of… lines. And dots. Staring at the multitudes of marks upon the paper, Finn's brow furrowed in confusion.

"How can you read this?" He gawked. Turning the papers upside down, he frowned. "There aren't even any letters!"

Glancing up from the mystery in his hands, his eyes widened as he caught sight of Rachel's face- Rachel's clearly _irritated_ face.

"For your information, Finn," She huffed, "That's _music_. Each line and space represents a letter, which…"

As Rachel began to speak more rapidly and with more detail, Finn felt himself slowly drift away. Nodding idly whenever he heard what he thought was a question, Finn settled into his own thoughts. It was too much work, listening to Rachel- they weren't in a relationship (_yet)_ and he was already spending too much energy listening to her talk.

'_Once we get married, I can change that.' _Finn thought happily, a goofy grin spreading across his face. '_If I-'_

Finn's thoughts were cut off as he felt the papers being roughly plucked out of his hands, just like he had done to Rachel. Blinking in surprise, he watched, too stunned for words, as the girl threw him a scathing glare and stormed off towards the edge of town.

Over Puck's howling laughter, Finn blinked once again and looked down at his empty hands.

"What did I do?" He wondered.

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><p>Scowling, Rachel stomped all the way back home. By the time that she reached her house, however, all she had succeeded in was giving herself sore feet.<p>

Grumbling under her breath, Rachel opened the door to the cottage and sighed, some of her pent up anger releasing as she leaned back against the door; happy to be back inside her safe home.

"Rachel?" A voice drifted from the next room over. "Is that you?"

Hearing the familiar voice, Rachel released the rest of the anger in her heart and smiled.

"It's me, Daddy." She called back.

"Would you mind coming and helping your dear daddy, Rach?" He answered; Rachel could practically hear the weariness in his voice.

Without another word's prompting, Rachel immediately went to her father. When she entered the room, she had to cover her mouth in surprise- her father's face was blackened with soot, an equally sooty monster of a machine sitting right next to him.

"Daddy…!" She breathed. Rushing to the kitchen and returning with a towel, she immediately began to wipe his face clean. "What happened?"

Hiram Berry chuckled, taking the cloth from his daughter and dabbing it at his face. "The same as usual, Rachelah. This _blasted_-" Here, he threw a hard glare at the machine. "-invention of mine blew up in my face. Quite literally this time."

Scrubbing away the last traces of blackened powder from his face, the male Berry sighed and collapsed into a nearby chair.

"It'll never work." He murmured softly, covering his eyes with a hand as he leaned back. "It never used to be this hard. Leroy, you were always better with your hands than I was…"

A wave of sadness washed over Rachel upon hearing Leroy's name.

Leroy was Rachel's other father, in a manner of speaking. Rachel's family was composed of three people- Hiram, Rachel herself, and Leroy.

They hadn't always lived in Lima- in fact, they used to live in the big city. Leroy and Hiram Berry were inventors in a brand new world of innovation and technology.

'Berry & Berry Inc., non-pareil' was their company name. Hiram was always the one to dream up an invention; once he got started, the concepts and ideas flowed from him like water from a fountain. He would throw himself into the design, not stopping until his dream was on paper.

From there on, it was Leroy's turn. Where Hiram was the dreamer, Leroy was the creator. From Hiram's brilliance, Leroy would make something out of nothing, bringing all of Hiram's dreams to life.

Perhaps it was their symbiotic work ethic was what drew the two men to each other.

In front of their investors and the public, the two men were business partners with (coincidentally) the same last name; but behind the scenes, they were lovers. They rose Rachel together, adopting her as their own from Rachel's poor young mother.

Rachel spent many of her childhood years living happily as a Berry. Their family never wanted for much- the head honchos of every technology mogul were clients of Berry & Berry. They didn't exactly have an over-abundance of funds, but they had more than enough to get by… and more than enough to spoil Rachel.

The value of clothes and jewellery were not the kind of luxuries that Rachel indulged in. In fact, she couldn't care much less about _those_ material goods. No, Rachel craved the riches that were the fine arts- and her every wish was satisfied.

Etiquette, dance, drama. These were the lessons that Rachel asked for and was rewarded with. In each field, she excelled, even from a young age- no other young girl could speak as eloquently, nor twirl as gracefully, or cry as fast on cue as Rachel could.

Yet the art the Rachel loved with all of her heart were none of these. The art was one that could never truly be taught by another; it had to be learned by one's self, felt instead of analyzed, and heard as much as seen.

Music.

Rachel's passion was song, and the songs she produced were exquisite. She had begged her fathers for the best of music teachers, and under their delicate hand and guidance (not teaching) her voice had blossomed.

The people of Lima proclaimed that Rachel's beauty was her best trait.

Rachel begged to differ.

Thinking of the town, Rachel felt her heart sink a little bit more.

Rachel and her fathers were very happy with their life in the city… until they both fell ill.

The whole Berry family was affected. Rachel was lucky- a child at the time, she bounced back fairly quickly after the sickness hit. Hiram was a little worse off than Rachel, but his recovery came soon enough.

Leroy was not so lucky.

Perhaps it was the fatigue from creating and perfecting machinery every single day. Perhaps it was the inhalation of fumes, dust, and soot from countless inventions and experiments over the years. Perhaps it was simply fate.

Whatever it was, Leroy Berry didn't survive the sickness.

Hiram and Rachel were devastated. To make matters worse, upon the doctor's examination of the Berrys after Leroy's passing, it turned out that the disease hadn't left Hiram at all but simply gone into a dormant state.

To counteract against the potentially deadly disease, the doctor prescribed Hiram a heaping helping of fresh air and stress-reducing living. Meaning, of course, they had to leave. Rachel hadn't wanted to leave, but she knew it was best for her father. They were the only family that they both had left, after all.

Putting a good chunk of their money forward, Hiram purchased a small home on the outside of Lima- a good location, with easy access to the town, the road to the city, and the fresh air Hiram needed to get better.

Rachel's remaining father did manage to beat the sickness, but he still remained weaker than before he had contracted the illness. After Leroy died, he still invented- but the zest and effort that he used to head into his projects with was gone, as was the amazing speed at which the company produced inventions.

That was why the Berry's had remained in Lima- though Berry Inc. had lost some of its clientele, and produced at a slower rate, those who stayed on still received top quality work. The money wasn't as good as before, so they couldn't afford to move back once Hiram had gotten his sickness under control, but the town was quaint and quiet, a good place for Rachel to live. That, and the cleanliness of the air truly did help Hiram's health.

"Back to work. Want to help me, Rachelah?"

Hiram's sudden question drew the young woman out of her reverie. Nodding, she felt her sadness melt away as she watched a grin grow on her father's face.

Sliding himself underneath his creation, Hiram resumed his tinkering with a clean face and a smile. Every few minutes, he would ask Rachel to hand him a tool, which the young woman did dutifully.

After a few minutes of silence, Rachel spoke.

"Daddy, do you think I'm… strange?"

"Strange?" Hiram peered out from under the invention, shocking Rachel as she caught sight of his special spectacles, magnifying his pupils to ten times their normal size. "Whatever gave you that idea?"

Fiddling with a wrench, Rachel sighed. When she was outside, she was full of bravado and confidence, envisioning the best of herself even when others pointed out the worst. At home, she was much the same… but sometimes, even those walls needed to be let down.

"I don't have any friends here, Daddy." Rachel gazed out the window, watching the town bustle before her eyes- part of their world, but at the same time forever separated. "I don't think the other girls like me very much."

"Well what about that boy?" Hiram asked, his voice muffled slightly as he ducked back underneath. "I don't like the looks of him, to be honest, but he seems nice enough. He's a handsome fellow."

Thinking of the boyish-man's actions from earlier, Rachel felt the anger in her heart bubble to the surface once again.

"He's handsome, alright." Rachel responded, clenching the wrench in a white knuckled grip. "And ignorant and _rude_ and _completely obtuse and inappropriate and cocky and-!"_

"Rachelah! Deep breaths, sweetheart. Like we practiced." Hiram coaxed, out from under the machine but respectfully far away from Rachel; he knew what happened when Rachel got into moods like this, and he had the scars to prove it.

After Rachel calmed down, Hiram scurried to take the wrench away from her. Kneeling down next to his creation yet again to tighten a bolt, he took a moment to smile at Rachel.

"Don't you worry, Rachel." He assured her. "When I take this to the fair, you'll see. If I win, we'll go back to the city, I promise. I'll even write to the owner of the theatre, and we'll go see a show."

"_When_ you win, Daddy." Rachel beamed. "Not if."

"That's my girl." The elder Berry chuckled, pulling his daughter in for a one armed hug. "Now that I've made a few adjustments, perhaps this hunk of junk will finally get moving, hm?"

Shooing Rachel into the corner to watch, Hiram leaned forward and grabbed the lever sticking out from the side of the machine. Pulling it once, twice, three times, it finally kick-started with a roar.

"Stand back, Rachel!" Hiram called over the din, moving back to stand in front of his daughter.

With an almighty groan of wood and a hiss of steam, the father and his daughter watched as the invention came to life.

Within a moment of turning on the machine, the effects were evident. Though steam and dust clouded the room, Rachel's eyes grew wide with excitement as she watched the axe attached to one end of the beast cleave easily through a log of wood and pick up the next one, achieving in moments what would take a few hours of work.

"It works!" She cried out, her eyes shining. "It really works!"

With a laugh and an energy that Rachel hadn't seen in years, Hiram scooped Rachel into his arms and swept her off her feet, spinning her around as his machine whirred busily in the background.

"Hitch up the horse, Rachelah!" Hiram laughed, narrowly avoiding a flying piece of firewood. "I'm off to the inventors fair!"

Within a few hours, the machine was loaded up on the back on a cart. Sitting atop a cream coloured horse, Hiram looked at his daughter, his gaze gentle.

"I'm sorry I can't bring you along," he said quietly, his vision coloured with a plea of forgiveness. "I know how much you love going to the city. I'll be back in a week, I swear."

Rachel's mouth was turned down into a pout, but she knew her father was right. Putting on her best show smile, Rachel looked her father straight in the eyes as she spoke.

"I know you'll win at the fair, daddy. I'll take care of things here while you're gone, so long as you promise me front row seats to the show!"

With a booming laugh not unlike Rachel's own, Hiram tugged at the reins of the horse, setting the cart in motion. Over his shoulder, he looked at his daughter and smiled.

"Once I win the fair Rachelah, forget about front row tickets! You're going to be the _star_ of the show!"

Laughing herself, Rachel waved goodbye to her father, watching him until he was out of sight. With a last chuckle to herself, she turned around and went back into the house. As she cooked that night, she hummed a light, airy tune. When she fell into bed later, her dreams were filled with visions of the future she so longed for- spotlight on her, as she stood solitary at centre stage, in front of a massive crowd of sold out fans.

'_When Daddy comes back_', a voice whispered in the background all the while, '_All of this will happen. Every dream will come true.'_

If only it were that simple.

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><p>So it's me again. You're all probably wondering, what took so long, right? Well, I did have this chapter done.<p>

And then I rewrote it.

And rewrote it again.

So, here is the finished product. Hope you enjoy it! Forgive any mistakes, I don't have a beta and I'll come back to edit more later.

More will come soon.


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